Mockingjay Lion
by NeverBeyondRedemption
Summary: Cato won the 73rd Hunger Games but he broke in the process. Now Katniss Everdeen has volunteered to take her sister's place in the 74th Games and when she comes out, she might just be able to piece the prior victor back together again. Catoniss, quite AU obviously. Follows entire series. Rated T because it's the Hunger Games and Cato's a violent brute.
1. Chapter 1

**OK, so I have 10 chapters of this written and ready to go. It's a bit of a common idea but I don't really care; you can't have too much Catoniss. Or at least I don't think you can. Also, I get bored of reading the scene where they get ready for the reapings again and again so I just skipped it, you guys probably all know it pretty much by heart anyway. **

**I'm also considering some other minor pairings for later on; Brutus is quite a caring figure with a tough outer shell in this so maybe Mrs. Everdeen/Brutus. Just an idea, tell me what you think.**

**I am also seized by a sudden idea for Enobaria/Haymitch. I haven't seen it done before and both would be very late on in the fic. Enobaria is also like Brutus; a tough outer figure and caring inside. You'll see what I mean quite early on.**

**Setting: Cato won the 73****rd**** hunger games and kept on killing people after. Pretty much everyone is frightened of him but snow doesn't care that he keeps killing people because it shows how the 'rebellion left everyone scarred.' Katniss has just been reaped for the 74****th**** hunger games and so on goes the story.**

**Chapter 1.**

Cato hadn't actually seen the two district 2 tributes since the reapings. He knew that Clove had volunteered because she had told him she would a couple of weeks ago. He had killed someone that day. Again. The boy was also a volunteer but he hadn't bothered to find out his name, he didn't particularly care.

Cato had broken in his games. He had been put forwards to volunteer a year early and he had wiped the field, now holding the record of most tributes killed and the shortest games. Although he had broken in the process; the first 6 months and his victory tour had been spent in a haze blood and death as he killed anyone who touched him, looked at him funny or surprised him. He still did kill the odd person if they caught him by surprise but he was allowed to see friends and family if he had another victor playing escort.

After the reaping he had shut himself in the TV room and no one had disturbed him, the other victors knew him well enough to not disturb him and the tributes were probably too afraid to come into the same room. Even fearless, bloodthirsty, violent Clove was no longer comfortable in his presence. She tried to hide it but he had spent hours studying her body language as they fought in the academy and it had given her away.

He was sprawled across the sofa with his head thrown over the back. He heard a knock on the door and after a pause Enobaria stepped in. Behind her filed Clove and her partner followed by the other 7 living district 2 victors. Cato followed them with his eyes as they silently took seats with a view of the screen. Lyme pulled the heavy curtains across the windows, plunging the room into maroon semi-darkness. The 4 victors squeezed together on the sofa opposite Cato so that she could sit, despite him being the only person on his sofa. None of them would admit it but, with the exceptions of Enobaria and Brutus, they were all slightly afraid of him. The boy tribute was putting on a front of being utterly relaxed but his gaze was fixed too firmly on the blank TV on the wall.

Enobaria reached over to a small coffee table and brushed her fingers over a metal disk. The screen on the wall flickered to life and the replay of the reapings began. Cato lifted his head slightly so that he could watch the proceedings. The two from 1 were not up to their usual standard, the boy lacked their usual blond beauty and the girl didn't have the look of a killer. Then Clove volunteers in place of a skinny 14 year old girl, her partner lunges forwards to volunteer, almost knocking over the 12 year old whose place he was taking. Cato learned that his name was Dominus.

The girl from 5 caught his attention; her eyes betrayed a fierce intelligence but her build was slight and weak. Clove and Dominus had already dismissed her though and Cato mentally chalked up their first mistake. Everyone laughed cruelly when a boy with a crippled leg was selected from district 10 but their amusement faded when a tiny girl was reaped from 11. Even the most bloodthirsty of the victors didn't like having to kill 12 year olds. Her partner was a huge 18 year old boy and Cato could hear Brutus telling the two tributes that he would be one to watch out for. Then district 12 was up and their escort with her absurd pink dress was fishing in the reaping bowl with her pink nailed fingers. Finally she drew out a slip and her heels clacked sharply as she tottered over to the microphone.

'Primrose Everdeen,' she announced, her eyes already scanning the crowds for the unfortunate girl. The cameras zoomed in on a tiny, stick-thin girl with her hair pulled into two blonde braids. One of the district 2 victors let out an unhappy sigh, the girl didn't even look 11. Suddenly there was a commotion at the back of the shot and a brunette stepped out into the aisle between the boys and girls.

'Prim! Prim' The girl cried. She sounded shocked and she hurried forwards, sweeping the younger girl behind her without a moment's hesitation. 'I volunteer!' She gasped and the victors and tributes around Cato stirred in surprise. Cato pulled his sprawled limbs in and leant forwards, his interest captured.

'I volunteer as tribute!' The brunette from district 12 repeated more clearly this time. The people on the stage shared uneasy glances, unsure how to act in the face of this anomaly. The escort said something but Cato wasn't listening. The younger girl had begun to scream, clinging onto the elder's legs until she was swept off by a tall boy with similar features to the girl. The mayor looked slightly pained as the girl declared her name; Katniss Everdeen. Then the escort finally called for applause but the entire district remained silent, then a single starved looking man, blackened with coal dust, raises his fingers to his lips and into the air towards the girl on the stage. One by one the rest of the district followed in their strange, silent salute. The commentators didn't seem to know what to say of the refusal to applaud; one eventually said that local customs were charming. Then the drunk fell off the stage and the spell was broken. The boy from her district was nothing special though and the TV flickered off before he had even announced his name as Enobaria brushed her finger over the control again.

'There we have it. A weak field this year, your main competition this year will probably be the male from 11…' Cato tuned out the annoying voice of Kurt Bonatz. Yes, the boy from 11 would be competition but so would the volunteer from 12. He wondered how the others hadn't noticed it yet.

**R&R please**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

Katniss tossed in bed for over an hour before she gave up on sleep. She was still buzzing with the success of the opening ceremony, she didn't doubt that she had made an impression on the sponsors but she had seen the glares of the other tributes and she knew that a great, fiery target had just been painted on her back. With that thought she gave up on sleep and pulled the silvery velvet blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders before shuffling out into the main room.

No avoxs were present and the huge apartment was eerily silent, Haymitch was probably passed out in his room and Peeta was likely asleep. The only noise was Katniss' blanket dragging softly against the floor. She padded into the lift and pressed a button that she had noticed earlier. The doors slid open to reveal a moonlit rooftop garden filled with silvery flowers and dark leaves. The stars shone faintly above them and the celebrating capitol citizens could be heard beneath.

She wandered between the exotic plants idly, searching for a place to lay out her blanket. She was reaching the edge when she saw a figure with his back to her on a bench through a tangle of trees. The silvery moonlight outlined his well built form and shone off his blond hair. Katniss wondered if Peeta shared her nerves about the private training tomorrow and the impending games, he probably did. She followed the stupid winding path which led her around the flowerbed and towards the bench, approaching from the front.

'I thought you were asleep Peeta.' She called out, Peeta's head snapped up, only it wasn't Peeta. The features were wrong; his chin wasn't as square and his cheekbones were more pronounced. The hair was shorter and a lighter shade of blond. Katniss froze in fear as she recognized Cato Stone, the victor of the 73rd hunger games. Cato's games had been one of the bloodiest in hunger games history. He seemed to lose it after his first kill in the initial bloodbath and he killed 6 tributes before he even reached the Cornucopia. Katniss had stopped watching then, sickened by the mindless slaughter but she knew the rough outline from there. He got hold of a sword from the Cornucopia and the games were pretty much already over; he slaughtered 11 tributes on the first day, the other careers took out 4 between them. The alliance didn't even last the night, and he was declared victor on the third day. Apparently he hadn't been right in the head since; he certainly didn't look sane on the victory tour.

'Peeta probably is asleep.' Cato said. Katniss stood awkwardly, trying to think of an escape route as Cato's ice blue eyes slid over her, taking in every detail. Suddenly he gestured to the space beside him on the bench and deciding that appeasement was probably the safest option she obeyed. She couldn't relax though and she sat on the edge of the stone bench ready to flee at a moment's notice.

'Sorry, I mistook you for my district partner in the bad light.' She apologized awkwardly.

'I know who Peeta is, I'm not that out of it.' He said sourly and Katniss felt a flicker of fear run through her. She wondered if he held the same resentment towards her as the others from his district, she knew if he did then unlike the others he would have no qualms in killing her on the spot.

'Why did you come up here?' She asked curiously. Cato cast her a glance and Katniss shivered slightly, remembering she was in the presence of a murderer.

'Enobaria and Brutus won't look for me here; I'm not supposed to go anywhere in the capitol without an escort.' He laughed humourlessly 'They're probably afraid I'll kill one of their precious sponsors'. He answered surprisingly honestly. She remembered hearing that Cato had murdered a couple of people since he had come out of the games.

Katniss looked Cato over with renewed caution, suddenly noticing the short throwing knife in his hands. He kept turning it over in his hands, watching the play of light along the razor sharp edges. Her mind was swamped by images of him sinking the blade into her, blood spattering his face and chest as it had in his games. Her breathing sped up unconsciously and Cato heard, unsurprisingly. He turned so he was facing her and spun the knife in his hand casually, holding it out for her inspection. It was a similar size and shape to the one that Clove had been using earlier but the blade looked like solid gold.

'You recognize it?' He asked quietly and Katniss nodded.

'It's a throwing knife, Clove was using ones like it earlier.' Katniss shuddered at the memory of the knives slamming into the targets, hitting each one dead centre.

'She that good?' He inquired and Katniss nodded. 'You ever tried using one?' he continued and Katniss shook her head.

'Not really.' She hadn't wanted to try them out with the careers there because it would have showed up how much worse she was than Clove.

'I can teach you if you want?' Cato told her and Katniss stared at him in disbelief, both surprised that he would offer to help her and worried that he might lose control and throw the knife at her. Torn between the idea of learning from a career and wanting to learn to use something other than the bow she finally agreed.

Cato twirled the knife again and suddenly the blade spun out of his hand. Moonlight flashed off it brightly and it landed with a heavy thud, sinking several inches into a false tree trunk several meters away. The hilt quivered slightly from the impact and Katniss couldn't take her eyes off it. Her eyes followed the blade as Cato pulled it out of the tree and returned to the bench beside her. He demonstrated how to hold the knife and how to throw it in slow motion, finally he handed it to her and she took it hesitantly.

The knife was surprisingly heavy in her hands and she weighed it for a couple of seconds before adopting the position that Cato had demonstrated, the velvet blanket pooled around her feet as she did. He corrected her position quickly, finely adjusting the position of her fingers on the knife. His skin was warm despite the cool air and Katniss shivered slightly when he stepped away, wishing that he was still close. Then she mentally scolded herself for wanting to be close to a cold blooded murderer; what would Gale say?

Once Cato was satisfied with her stance he made her go through the motions of throwing the knife until she had it 'acceptable'. Finally he told her to release the knife and she flicked it out of her hand. It spun out of her hand and landed with a heavy thud in the tree, several feet below where it had landed when Cato had thrown it. It was still a solid stick though which pleased her, Cato was also smiling which surprised her; it was a genuine happy smile, nothing sadistic or mad about it.

Katniss threw the knife several more times with Cato making minute adjustments to her stance. The tree trunk became perforated with slices and sap oozed out of the bark. To her surprise Katniss found herself enjoying it; she even laughed when Cato threw the knife 6 times in quick succession, slicing a happy face into the bark. He threw the knife a seventh time and it landed, perfectly in the center making a large nose.

With her arm muscles aching Katniss collapsed onto the bench, still holding the knife. Cato sat next to her and she smiled at him.

'Thank you.' She said, and she actually meant it, not just for the lesson but for distracting her momentarily from worries about the games and her sister back home. Cato was silent and the grin on his face suddenly faded.

'What you did, volunteering for your sister, that was brave.' He said sincerely and Katniss looked at him, taken aback.

'but people in your district volunteer all the time!' she exclaimed.

'Yeah, but we've trained for it all our lives, there's a good chance if you volunteer from 2 that you'll win. You've never trained in your life but you volunteered anyway, knowing that you are likely to die.' Katniss grimaced at the reminder.

'She's my sister, I couldn't let her die.' She said truthfully. Cato opened his mouth to reply but his words were lost in the noise of the ding of the arriving lift. They both spun to face the door and Katniss instinctively slid the throwing knife up her sleeve to conceal it from view.

Two adults rushed onto the roof and caught sight of them quickly. They hurried over and Katniss tried to identify them but they were only vaguely familiar and the poor lighting didn't help. A giant of a man with huge muscles and no hair charged past her followed by a tall, athletically built woman, her dark hair was scraped back into an immaculate high ponytail. The man forcefully restrained Cato, pulling his arms behind his back as if he was fighting and Cato fought back accordingly. Katniss stepped back away from the struggling men but her foot caught in the velvet blanket at her feet and she crashed to the floor. Eventually the huge man appeared to win because Cato suddenly stopped fighting. The huge man snarled something in Cato's ear which Katniss didn't catch and Cato scowled but allowed the man to march him towards the door.

Then the woman stepped forwards and offered a hand to Katniss, she took it cautiously and allowed the woman to pull her to her feet.

'Are you OK?' She asked worriedly and Katniss nodded to signal that yes, she was alright. The woman didn't seem to believe her though because she checked her over anyway.

'No injuries as far as I can tell.' She said and Katniss caught a glimpse of something glinting in her mouth. Katniss suddenly connected the dots; district 2, shiny teeth and the muscled build, the woman in front of her was Enobaria, the person that won her games by ripping out the throats of her enemies with her teeth. Katniss recoiled from her instinctively, then felt awful when the woman's face fell. Enobaria took her arm and guided her back through the door. Her fingers narrowly missed the tip of the knife in her sleeve, the victor stooped to pick up the velvet blanket as they passed it.

To Katniss' surprise the victor accompanied her all the way to her room, Enobaria helped her into bed and threw the blanket over her. She left briefly to get a hot chocolate and returned to tuck her in.

'I've always wanted to do this.' She said as she folded the blanket snuggly around Katniss.

'Do what?' Katniss asked.

'Tuck someone in,' Enobaria sat at the edge of Katniss' bed by the pillow. 'I wanted kids, before the games of course.' She seemed like she was about to continue but there came a crash followed by several colourful curses from next door which Katniss guessed was Haymitch falling out of bed.

Enobaria gave her the hot chocolate and bid her goodnight in a surprisingly reluctant manner before shutting the door and leaving her to her thoughts. Katniss finally removed the throwing knife from her sleeve and turned it over in her hands as she sipped her drink. Once she had finished she used the remote to turn off the lights and she snuggled down in the covers still holding the knife. She had a lot to think about; Cato's apparent sanity, her lesson with knife throwing, Enobaria's kindness and above all her family back at home. She wondered how Prim was getting on without her and she hoped that Gale was managing to feed them. She hoped her mother hadn't already faded out and that she wouldn't when… if Katniss died in the games.

When she finally fell asleep she was still clutching the knife in her hands.

**End of Chapter 2. R&R please.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I said at the beginning of chapter 1 that I was considering a Mrs Everdeen/Brutus pairing, well I just wrote chapter 13 and I'm not so sure about it. Although if anyone really wants it it's not too late for it to happen still. Just tell me what you think.**

**Sorry it's late, went to Scotland and couldn't work out how to tether my computer to my mobile networky thingy.**

**Chapter 3.**

At 7 the next morning Katniss was in the middle of a nightmare, Peeta knocked on the door quietly but it didn't wake her up. He fetched Haymitch and the mentor cautiously entered her room. She was tossing around on the bed whimpering softly, Haymitch watched her for a couple of seconds before softly calling her name.

Katniss sat up with a scream and Cato's knife flew out of her hand, Haymitch dropped to his stomach with a crash and the knife sank into the doorframe a couple of inches to the side of where his head had just been. Haymitch stayed on his stomach for a couple of seconds incase anymore blades came his way but the only noise was Katniss' ragged breathing. Peeta peered warily around the door.

'Is everything OK, it's just I heard a scream and a crash and then this thud…' His eyes widened as he caught sight of the knife in the doorframe and Haymitch picking himself up off the floor. 'What happened!'

Haymitch didn't answer him, instead he strode over to the knife in the doorframe and tugged it out with more than a little effort. He looked over the blade closely before turning to Katniss.

'Where did you learn that sweetheart, and where did you get this knife?' He asked quietly. Katniss opened her mouth to answer but Peeta asked a question before she could.

'What's so special about that knife? And why was it sticking out of the doorframe?'

'This knife…' Haymitch answered slowly, 'Came out of the last hunger games arena and it was in the doorframe because Katniss threw it there.' Peeta looked between Haymitch and Katniss in confusion.

'But if it came from the last arena then where did _Katniss_ get it from.' He insisted.

'I wouldn't mind knowing that myself.' Haymitch answered, looking at Katniss pointedly. She avoided his stare and eventually he left, leaving Katniss alone with Peeta. Katniss finally mumbled something into the silence, then she seemed to realize that nobody could understand her because she repeated louder;

'I learned it in training. I found the knife.' Haymitch nodded in acceptance before handing the knife back to her but Peeta had been in training with her and knew that she had steered clear of the knife throwing. He waited until Haymitch had left before shutting the door and coming to sit on the end of her bed.

'Where did you actually learn to do that?' He asked and Katniss fished around for a way to avoid the question but none came up. She fixed her stare on a patch on the floor and finally mumbled something into the silence, then she seemed to realize that nobody could understand her because she repeated louder;

'Cato taught me, he gave me the knife.' Peeta's reaction was explosive.

'Cato! You mean_ the_ Cato Stone, 73rd victor? The mental one, the one that keeps killing people?' Katniss nodded mutely and Peeta's words died on his lips. 'When did he teach you?' the baker's son whispered.

'Last night, on the roof, he escaped from Brutus and Enobaria and I bumped into him and he taught me to throw the knife then we talked for a bit and Brutus and Enobaria found us Brutus took Cato down to 2 whilst Enobaria tucked me in and brought hot chocolate.' She said in a rush realizing as she spoke how ridiculous it sounded, Peeta stared at her.

'You were alone with Cato Stone with a knife and Enobaria tucked you in?' He said disbelievingly before he got up and moved towards the door, 'Breakfast's ready when you're ready.' He turned quickly and left her to change.

When Katniss came into the main room for breakfast the others were already sitting around the table tucking in. Katniss sat down at her usual place and helped herself to a large portion of eggs, bacon and mushrooms which she practically inhaled. She was piling bread rolls and several thin slices of meat onto her plate when the doors to the lift slid open. The eyes of everyone at the table turned to look at the newcomer. Katniss smiled when she saw Enobaria but everyone else scowled.

'Wha' d'you wan'' Haymitch growled around his mouthful, Enobaria just bared her teeth at him and sat down opposite Katniss. Enobaria's gold-inlayed teeth glittered as she smiled at Katniss, the polar opposite of the expression she gifted to Haymitch. The district 2 victor helped herself to a roll and a generous helping of chocolate spread.

'Please excuse me; we don't get served chocolate spread down in two.' She said as she bit into it, her sharpened teeth slicing easily through the thick crust. The table remained silent, Peeta gave her hostile glares across the rim of his mug. 'Could I speak to Katniss alone please?' She asked innocently and both Haymitch and Katniss spoke at the same time; Haymitch saying 'no' and Katniss saying 'yes'. The fell silent and glared at one another across the table until Haymitch threw up his hands in defeat and Katniss stood and led Enobaria to her room. The district 2 victor followed, still holding her roll.

'I was just wondering if you knew where Cato's knife was, Katniss? Only I can't find it and Brutus wants to take him out but we can't unless we're certain he's unarmed.' She said, glancing back at the table to make sure no one was listening. Her teeth gleamed whitely in the morning sunlight and Katniss slid the gold knife out of her sleeve.

'Can you please thank Cato for the lesson?' Katniss asked as she handed the weapon over to Enobaria and the woman's eyes widened slightly.

'He gave you a lesson?' She asked incredulously. Peeta, who had come up behind them snorted incredulously. Enobaria spun to face him, the gold knife flying into a ready position. She relaxed when she saw who it was.

'He did better than just a bloody lesson. She nearly stuck that thing in Haymitch's head when he woke her up this morning.' Peeta glared at Enobaria like this was her fault but the district 2 victor seemed more excited than annoyed.

'Really? He is very good but he's never expressed any interest in teaching…' She mused as she turned smoothly and walked towards the door, taking her bread roll with her. 'See you all later maybe, thanks for the knife.' She addressed Katniss directly and Katniss nodded before the elevator doors shut and Enobaria disappeared.

The room remained silent for several long minutes after she left and Katniss rejoined the table. For the rest of the meal only Effie seemed oblivious to the tension. She nattered about some party that she want to just before the reaping and how 'absolutely charming' the ladies looked. To Katniss the meal seemed to drag out forever, she could feel the stares of Peeta and Haymitch on her the whole time and her croissant kept sticking in her throat. Finally Effie excused herself, saying that she had a meeting to get to and Peeta hardly managed to wait until she was out of hearing range before he exploded.

'What was that Katniss? Since when have you been all cozy with the careers? Don't you remember what they've done? That woman ripped out two kid's throats with her teeth!'

'Peeta…' She tried but he interrupted angrily.

'You know, I don't care. You get up close but I guarantee they won't give a damn if you die in there. You can probably bet they'll be the ones to kill you.' He shoved back his chair with an ear-splitting screech and stormed to his room. Katniss remained frozen, stunned by his out of character anger. Haymitch gave her a long look before following Peeta to his room; he paused at the stairs and turned back to her.

'I'm inclined to agree with him sweetheart, I wont pretend to know what's going on between you and the careers but I wouldn't trust them further than I could throw them, keep your distance.' He said and followed the angry Peeta with the hopes of calming him down.

**I've written 16 chapters for this. It's really satisfying to look at in the folder on my computer.**

**R&R.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I told one person that Katniss wouldn't see Cato before the games… well, er… she sort of does? It's up to you to decide whether this is a proper meeting or not. **

**Chapter 4.**

Cato sat on one of the sofas flanked by both Enobaria and Brutus. The other victors, the stylists and the two tributes were crammed onto two other sofas and a small array of chairs. Cato had been allowed to train in the training rooms after the individual sessions were finished and he had about 20 dummies. He felt a lot better now, especially because he had managed to acquire another throwing knife. He had a collection at home already, including all the originals that he had used in the arena but he liked having weapons on him in the capitol too.

His 'outing' with Brutus had been OK as well, they had gone on a run to a park and he had taken a quick swim. The two mentors either side of him were very pleased with his performance so far, he hadn't even tried to kill anyone yet and they had been in the capitol for almost a week. He had even been alone on the roof with a knife and not stabbed the girl.

Finally the advert for a flaming headdress 'like Katniss Everdeen' finished and Caesar appeared on the screen. He cracked a few jokes and explained the scoring system quickly; like anyone didn't know how it worked. Then the first of the scores was up; the two from district 1 scored surprisingly well, Dominus scored a 10 and everyone in the room applauded him. Clove scored a 9 and she huffed in annoyance that she hadn't got the best score. The rest of the tributes scored between 3 and 7, district 11 and 12 boys also scored high and then it was Katniss' turn. Caesar read out her name and then hesitated, surprise and confusion crossing his features. Then an 11 was flashing up on the screen. The room fell silent and Cato raised his eyebrows in surprise.

'That's impossible! There must be a mistake.' Clove screamed, surging to her feet. 'There's a mistake! I should have got that 11.' Dominus followed quickly, jumping up and adding his voice to her clamour. The noise grated on Cato's nerves as several of the victors began to demand how she had got the 11. Finally Cato had had enough and he slammed his hand down onto the table, it shattered with a noise like a gunshot. The room fell silent and every eye turned to him.

'How are you all such idiots? Everdeen isn't like the others from 12, she doesn't walk like them, she doesn't act like them. She's known what she's doing since the moment she volunteered and she intends to go home. There's nothing you lot shouting about it can do.' He snarled at them before turning and storming into the lift. He jabbed the button for the training room and the doors slid shut too slowly. The lift began its journey down and Cato's annoyance at the stupid tributes only increased as he neared the training room.

Finally he reached the bottom and he stepped out into the familiar room. The tribute lunch room was off to his left and the training room straight ahead. A peacekeeper stood guarding the entrance and he stepped forwards as Cato approached.

'Victor Cato, the training rooms are off limits to victors unt…' That was as far as he got before Cato roared in fury and plunged his gold knife into the man's abdomen. The peacekeeper coughed in shock and looked down at the glittering blade sticking out of his guts. Cato pulled the blade out of the man's body savagely and the peacekeeper grunted in pain. Blood spattered over Cato but he ignored it as he pushed his victim's dying body to one side and strode into the training room. He guessed he spoke to soon about not killing people. The man behind him fell to the floor in a pool of his own blood and the training room doors hissed shut behind the victor.

Katniss Everdeen stepped out of the shadows of the girl's bathrooms where she had been watching the scene unfold and she dropped to her knees in the pool of blood beside the dying man. It took her a couple of seconds to unscramble her brain from the violence she had just witnessed. When she did she clamped her hands over the peacekeeper's wounds in an attempt to stem the blood flow. The life was fading from the man's eyes when the lift door slid open to reveal Enobaria. The woman let out a curse and flew to Katniss' side.

'Ugh, I should have been here sooner. I knew he would do something like this.' She whispered to herself as she glanced over the injury, she knew before she looked that it was fatal. Cato had been trained too well, he wouldn't have made a mistake. That was the root of their problems really; Cato had been trained far too well, he had been trained to not let anyone get in his way and where anger would make a normal person make mistakes it only made Cato stronger and more accurate. The short temper which had been an asset in training became a liability when trying to adapt to a post-games life.

Enobaria glanced over to Katniss where she was kneeling over the body in shock, her face was pale and she looked horrified. Her clothes and hair were coloured scarlet by the blood and she knew she could hardly let the girl return to her mentor like that. With a heavy sigh she pulled the shell shocked girl to her feet and pulled her over to the lift.

When the doors opened at 2 she led the girl out into the main room. Luckily Brutus was the only one there, he swore when he saw Katniss and Enobaria's blood drenched clothes.

'What happened?' He asked, hurrying over to them. 'Cato didn't hurt her did he?' He relaxed slightly when Enobaria shook her head and he nodded when she told about the peacekeeper's body down stairs. Then she led Katniss into her room and helped the stunned girl into the shower fully clothed. The water ran pink with blood but it seemed to bring Katniss back to the present because she jumped a little and her eyes finally focused properly.

'Stay in here until you are clean, I'll be back in a moment then we'll see what I can do about some clothes. OK' She said and the district 12 girl nodded, Enobaria flashed her a sharp toothed grin before hurrying into Brutus' room across the hall to use his shower. When she came back Katniss was wrapped in a thick capitol towel, her skinny arms folded around her. Enobaria dropped the clothes that she had taken from Clove's room in front of her and the tribute thanked her. Enobaria smiled at her again; it was so much more pleasant dealing with the district 12 tribute than her own. They were grateful for everything. Enobaria waited in the hallway until Katniss had finished changing, the girl emerged from the room looking back to her usual self. The clothes were slightly too small but she doubted Abernathy would notice.

'You look better.' Enobaria said awkwardly and Katniss gave her a strange look.

'Thank you?' She said but Enobaria ignored the question in her voice. She led the girl over to the lift and pressed the button for her before leaving quickly. She stood and smiled at the girl as the doors shut and she was whisked upwards.

**R&R. Hope you liked it. I'm trying to get across that Cato isn't quite right in the head, did I do it well?**

**I'm also still umming and arring about the Brutus/Mrs. Everdeen pairing any opinions would be appreciated.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5.**

The morning of the interviews Katniss woke to find her prep team staring down at her, they chattered excitedly about all the attention they were getting as part of the support team for the 'girl on fire'. The morning was a blur of baths, lotions, waxing, plucking, brushing, curling, powders and paints as the prep team made her 'beautiful'. She was allowed a quick lunch whilst they waited for some cream or other to take effect, Katniss expected either Effie or Haymitch to come and visit during her brief break but apparently the two were busy with Peeta. She quelled the resentment and jealousy she felt when she heard this, knowing that there was more point for them to be working on Peeta's interview; hers was going to be abysmal.

In the late afternoon the prep team finally finished and Cinna entered. A black dress bag was draped over his shoulder and he wore his usual simple gold eyeliner. Katniss was instructed to close her eyes and she obliged, completely trusting her stylist. Cinna slipped the silken dress down over her body and Katniss relished the silken lining, then she noticed the weight. It was a reassuring weight though, which made her feel secure and fully dressed despite the cool air on her breasts which suggested a plunging neckline.

Finally Cinna allowed Katniss to open her eyes and she was amazed by the creature which she saw in the mirror. Her dress was entirely made of glittering precious gems of red, yellow and white with blue accentuating flame designs. It shimmered as she moved like flames were dancing across the fabric. Her eyes were drawn to her skin next which had been covered in gold powder with flame designs stenciled across her arms. Her eyes were huge and dark and her lips were full and red, her eyelashes had been covered by glitter so that they flashed in the light. Her hair was done in an elaborate version of her usual braid with crimson ribbons woven through.

For a while, the entire team just stared at me. 'Oh, Cinna,' Katniss finally managed to whisper. 'Thank you.' The stylist only smiled and the prep team broke in to admiring chatter. A knock came at the door and Cinna looked around in confusion, finally calling for the knocker to enter. The door opened to reveal Enobaria with Cato at her shoulder, Cinna's eyebrows rose and he glanced over to Katniss.

'Could we talk to Katniss please?' The woman asked with a charming smile. Katniss nodded to Cinna and he and the prep team filed out obligingly, the door shutting behind them with a click.

Both victors and Katniss stood in awkward silence for a moment whilst Enobaria and Cato looked her over.

'Well I must say you look nice, Katniss.' Enobaria finally said and Cato nodded in agreement

'All ready for the interview then?' he inquired and Katniss noticed that his eyes were much duller than they had been on the roof; Enobaria leant in towards Katniss and whispered in her ear so that Cato wouldn't overhear.

'He's been put back on sedatives for a while after the incident in the training room.' Katniss found herself feeling sad for him, constantly escorted everywhere by another victor… she banished that thought, knowing that it was only what he deserved for killing so many people.

'I'm awful. Haymitch called me a dead slug. No matter what we tried, I couldn't do it. I just can't be one of those people he wants me to be,' She answered after a moment's consideration and Enobaria's face took on a thoughtful look.

'Why don't you just be yourself?' Cato asked before returning to staring absently at the glittering gems on her dress

'Myself? That's no good, either. Haymitch says I'm sullen and hostile,' She answered hopelessly.

'Well, maybe you are . . . around Haymitch,' pondered Enobaria with glittering grin. 'I don't find you so. You won over the Gamemakers, you've won over me and you even managed to get through to Cato' The huge boy looked up when his name was mentioned. 'And as for the citizens of the Capitol, they can't stop talking about you. No one can help but admire your spirit.' She continued and Cato spoke up suddenly, staring at her surprisingly intensely with his drug-dulled blue eyes.

'Be spirited, proud and defiant. Show the capitol that you can defy the odds and get home.'

Someone knocked at the door and told Katniss that it was time for the interviews to start. She was suddenly overcome with stage freight and she looked up at the two district 2 victors in panic. Enobaria smiled encouragingly at her but Cato was fiddling with the cuff of his jacket.

'Just be yourself, you'll be fine.' Enobaria encouraged and Katniss managed a weak smile before she was escorted out of the dressing room by a peacekeeper.

Katniss stormed out of the lift and caught sight of Peeta emerging from the one opposite. With a snarl of rage she slammed him up against the wall by his neck, a china vase shattered as one of his flailing arms caught it. Blood immediately began to trickle down his wrists

'You had no right! No right to go saying those things about me!' She yelled, pushing harder against his neck in an attempt to get him to look at her. Instead he was looking at something over her shoulder. She swung her free hand back to slap him but to her surprise her hand was caught mid swing by someone behind her. Her captured hand was pulled down behind her back, throwing her balance backwards. An arm wrapped around her, pulling her forcefully away from Peeta. Katniss struggled instinctively but the person that held her was far stronger.

'Save it for the arena 12.' Her captor growled in her ear and she recognized the voice of Cato. She renewed her struggle, reminiscent of the peacekeeper in the training center.

'He made me look weak!' She hissed, but she did give up struggling; she was no match for the district 2 victor's strength.

'He made you look desirable. You're all they're going to be talking about, the star-crossed lovers from district 12. Your mentor can sell you two now and no one will ever forget you.' She could see the sense in what he said but she still didn't like it.

At that moment the doors to the lift slid open to reveal the rest of the district 12 team. Effie let out a horrified scream, 'what's going on? Get off my tributes immediately Mr. Stone.' The hideously dressed woman cried hysterically. 'Someone go and get the peacekeepers!' Surprisingly it was Peeta who spoke up in Cato's defense.

'It's fine Effie. He just restrained Katniss after she shoved me.' He said, picking himself up off the floor. Cato released Katniss and she spun furiously to face Haymitch.

'This was your idea, wasn't it? Turning me into some love stuck fool in front of the entire country?' She accused and once again Peeta covered for someone.

'It was my idea.' He pulled shards of china from his hands, wincing as he did. 'Haymitch just helped me with it.'

'Haymitch is very helpful, to you!' Katniss said as the lift doors slid open to reveal a flustered looking Enobaria. The woman's eyes widened when she saw the mess over the floor and the blood smeared across where Peeta had been pinned up against the wall.

'Cato! Not again, what have you done?' She cried in frustration, hurrying over. Effie and Haymitch turned to glare at her but she didn't notice. Yet again Peeta explained what Cato had done and the woman let out a relieved sigh. 'Thank God for that.' She sighed as she dragged him out of the room.

'Good luck 12!' Cato called over his shoulder as he was pulled into the lift and Enobaria echoed him. Katniss noticed that the two victors had left Peeta out of their well-wishing.

**Another chapter and other meeting between Cato and Katniss, it's into the arena next and seeing as you've all read the arena from Katniss' point of view in the books, I'm doing it from Cato's.**

**R&R and all that!**

**Also I'm not sure how being under drugs like that works so it might not be very authentic but I just roughly based it off what my dog was like when we shipped him over to France. Obviously it's a little hard to get how a human would act from how a dog acts.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6.**

Cato watched the district 12 girl on the huge screens, he was supposed to be watching district 2's tribute but district 12 was far more interesting at that time; after fleeing the fireballs she was resting by a small pool. Katniss inspected her injured leg cautiously and eventually she dipped it under the water of the small stream. Her eyes shut and her head lolled back in relief as the water cooled her burn. Cato glanced over at Haymitch quickly and was surprised to see that the mentor was watching closely and the usually ever present alcohol was missing.

To say that Cato had been surprised when district 12's boy had gotten into the alliance would have been an understatement, it was so rare for outer districts, but it appeared this year's tributes were full of surprises he mused, remembering the girl's '11' training score. At least it appeared Clove and Dominus had listened to his words after the private sessions; they seemed to have acknowledge Katniss as a treat finally. So far the girl was doing well, she had survived the bloodbath which was more than most outer rim tributes but as of yet she hadn't showed any especially memorable abilities, she could use a snare but that was hardly even 7 worthy. The girl had dug up several roots and was eating them along with some of her rabbit, maybe it was purely her ability to find food that impressed the gamemakers, and she quickly dropped off to sleep

He could see on another screen as the alliance quickly approached her position. Enobaria bared her sharpened teeth in an excited grin at him which he returned. The thrill of the hunt never quite left and watching the tributes on the screen brought it all rushing back. An hour later district 12 woke up again and Cato heard Brutus curse under his breath as she took a couple of measured sips from her water bottle and packed up to move on. It would have been better if she had still been asleep when the alliance found her but it couldn't be helped, anyway, she was relatively unarmed against the entire alliance. She wouldn't last long. Cato was slightly disappointed by this; he had hoped she would do better and prove his prediction right.

The girl suddenly froze and Cato knew that she had heard her approaching death. She fled like a startled rabbit and the tributes trampled loudly after her. The girl stayed ahead of them for longer than he expected but inevitably the better trained and fed inner district tributes gained on her. Unexpectedly she stopped and clambered up a tree, she moved quickly and she was easily 20ft up by the time the others reached the base of the tree. She looked down at the gang beneath her as they practically salivated for her blood, only her district partner stood a little way apart from the others. Looking at the image on the screen Cato guessed that very shortly the volunteer tributes would be 1 kill closer to victory.

Unexpectedly the 12 girl's face broke into a grin and she called down cheerily to the tributes below her. The entire mentor's lounge fell silent at her unexpected cheeriness in the face of death. The tributes seemed to be equally taken aback but 2's boy quickly called back in the same tone.

'Well enough, Yourself?' Back in the mentor's lounge Brutus yelled up at the screen at his tribute to get a move on.

'It's been a bit warm for my taste. The air's better up here, why don't you come on up?' The girl replied conversationally and Finnick laughed incredulously, Brutus scowled at him across the room and the victor stifled his laugh quickly. Dominus said something in reply which Cato missed and after quietly debating among his allies he hoisted himself up into the tree. The 12 girl scurried up the tree away from him, her footing was sure and she easily kept the distance between them. Dominus was just above where she had been before when the branch he had been standing on snapped under his weight. The boy crashed to the forest floor and Cato briefly hoped he had broken his neck in the fall; he didn't like the arrogant boy one bit, but he had no such luck. The boy rolled back to his feet and the district 1 girl with the arrows attempted to follow 12 up the tree. She got further than Dominus but not by far before the branches began to crack under her.

Looking at her then, Finnick suddenly realized what 12 had done. The rich kids beneath her that had never missed a meal in their lives had a good 50 pounds on her and she had used that advantage to climb high into the tree where the spindly branches would never support the other's weight. He acknowledged her intelligence approvingly before returning to watch the unfolding events.

Bow and Arrow girl fired a single arrow at 12 but the silver shaft flies far wide of its target. The girl plucked the arrow from the tree and waved it tauntingly down at the helpless killers beneath her. Enobaria stormed out and Brutus was clenching his fists to stop from smashing something, an action he had been known to take.

Eventually at lover boy's suggestion the allies settled down for the night around the base of the tree and 12 strapped her self in above them. She suffered worse from the fire than the other tributes and a soft moan escaped her lips as she inspected her injury. It was quite serious and her face creased in pain as she attempted to wash it clean. The tributes beneath her fell into an easy slumber but she remained awake, eventually she slashed a hole in the side of her sleeping bag and dangled her injured leg out of the hole.

Suddenly Haymitch stood with a huff and shuffled over to her computer to send a gift, from his seat Cato couldn't see what it was but he could make a pretty good guess. Haymitch was about to click enter to send it when 12's eyes snapped open suddenly and she peered into the surrounding canopy. He noticed the girl from 11 in the tree across from her, if it hadn't been for the map on the small screen which showed tribute's positions he wouldn't have known she was there. The outer districts were definitely full of surprises this year. Fire Girl followed 11's pointing arm and looked up cautiously and caught sight of something above her, it was too dark to properly see what she was looking at and her face didn't give away any clues. He watched as she waited for the anthem to start before climbing higher into the tree where she began to saw through a branch. He couldn't contain his confusion; surely she didn't expect a single branch to kill any of the tributes below her? Brutus, Cashmere and Gloss shared his confusion. The girl stopped sawing when the anthem finished and returned to her fork.

Cato saw Brutus' eyebrows raise when he saw the gift that waited for her amongst her gear, Cato could guess that the burn cream cost a lot, especially as someone needed it. He supposed she had a lot of sponsors though after her spectacular appearance at the opening ceremony. She whispered reverent thanks to Haymitch as she applied the medicine to her injuries and Cato caught a small smile flicker across the old mentor's face. It occurred to him that that was the first gift that someone from twelve had received in as long as he could remember.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry about the massive delay, I spent a couple of weeks training and had no internet connection. Please forgive me.**

**Chapter 7.**

Cato woke from his brutal nightmare in the early hours of the morning. He sat for a couple of minutes to steady his breathing before realizing that he had been sprawled over one of the chairs in the mentor's lounge. Belatedly he realized that he must have fallen asleep waiting for the 12 girl to act; he hadn't wanted to miss her escape attempt. Glancing around him he noticed Haymitch snoring a couple of seats along, everyone else had left leaving the room in semi darkness, the only light came from the screens around the room. He was surprised that Brutus and Enobaria had let him stay in the room without on of them present.

Haymitch was turning restlessly and mumbling for help. Cato ignored him easily and strolled over to the bar and poured himself a glass of water; the divide between rich and poor districts existed even after the arena and Cato's kill count meant he was high in the volunteer's pecking order, not to mention many of the other victors were actually afraid of him. Also he wasn't really the kind of person to go over and help someone unless it benefited him, which it didn't. He sipped his drink as he glanced over the night's events on a smaller side screen. Apparently nothing of interest had happened and he was about to return to his chair when suddenly Haymitch called out loudly.

Cato glanced over at the man, he was clearly in the middle of a nightmare because he tossed in his seat and clutched his abdomen tightly. Against his better judgment Cato called out softly to him, Haymitch snapped awake and leapt to his feet, brandishing a knife. He glared around the lounge and his eyes fixed on Cato, Haymitch's glare didn't soften but he nodded his grudging thanks before stumbling over to the bar and tipping a bottle of some kind of spirits into his mouth.

Cato watched the man as he stumbled back to his seat and purposefully ignored him. In a way he did admire him; the rest of them had only had 23 other tributes to compete against, Haymitch had had 47. He also had to deal with not only mentoring 1 tribute each year but both his district's. Coupled with that was that his outer district tributes rarely survived the bloodbath and never got into the final 8. Then he would have to return to the small district and face the families of the deceased. No wonder he drank, Cato smirked at the man's weakness. Not that Cato himself was much better, he just killed people instead.

Haymitch ignored Cato and Cato ignored Haymitch, neither willing to bridge the gap between them. It was really only to be expected after Cato had killed both of his tributes. They continued to keep up the pretence of being enthralled by events on the screens, all of which showed slumbering tributes. District 1 dozed off on her watch in the early hours of her watch and Cato tutted disapprovingly, along from him Haymitch nodded approvingly. As soon as it lightened significantly enough to see easily 12's eyes snapped open and she stealthily untied herself. Equally as stealthily she packed everything into her orange bag and whispered quietly to the tree next to her.

'Rue' Cato's eyebrows rose as he saw the district 11 girl still in the tree. 12 mimed sawing and the 11 girl leapt away through the trees, that was her 7 score explained.

12 climbed carefully up to her previous position in the tree and Cato saw what he had missed the night before; a tracker-jacker nest. He smirked as the girl began to saw through the branch, Haymitch yelled encouragements at the screen. A tracker-jacker stung her on the knee and she flinched away, slapping it instinctively. The branch gave way with a loud snap and she roughly pushed it away from her. It fell towards the floor, and Cato leaned forwards in his seat as the nest cracked open and a swarm of wasps buzzed out. The volunteers woke to a swarm of angry wasps, they erupted into chaos, screaming and slapping futilely at the huge insects.

12 boy had the sense to drop everything and run along with 1's boy and both Clove and Dominus. Cato laughed as 1 seemed to go mad and started shrieking before falling motionless to the ground. District 4 made it slightly further before she too fell to the ground with a heavy thud. She twitched for several long minutes and Cato drunk in her gruesome death. He then fixed his gaze to 12. She had ripped the huge barbs out of the stings she had sustained and she stumbled back towards the small pond she had been at previously. After submerging herself for nearly 5 minutes she suddenly pulled herself out and stumbled back towards the site of the nest.

Cato watched, puzzled as she stumbled out towards the body of district 1 on the ground. She collapsed to her knees beside the once beautiful girl and began to tug the bow out of her hands. Cato heard Haymitch beside him muttering quietly.

'Well done sweetheart.' He mumbled and Cato wondered if he was being sarcastic. Probably.

The cannon fired for Finnick's tribute and 12 threw herself across 1's swollen body as a hovercraft appeared to take her body away. Finally she retrieved the quiver from underneath the dead girl's body but it was too late. The remains of the alliance had crashed back into the clearing, the first one to reach her was her district partner and she fumbled with the bow in her hands, unable to nock an arrow.

'What are you still doing here? Are you mad, run, go, run!' Lover Boy yelled and the girl stumbled to her feet, the alliance faced the boy as she staggered away behind him. He blocked their route to reach her. Cato watched in surprise as the boy allowed her to get away and he mentally confirmed the boy's lack of killer instinct.

When Finnick and Cashmere entered they both gave heavy sighs made their way to one of the many phones and began the arduous chore of ringing to thank the sponsors of the dead tribute for their contributions. Cato knew from Enobaria and Brutus that the chore was long and difficult; they would have to deal with the many different reactions of the people that had invested into the tributes. Some would angry and blame them for their loss, others would be distraught and yet others would force them to listen to a constant stream of pointless chatter but they couldn't afford to offend any of them incase they deterred potential sponsors next year. Cato was glad that he was still considered to 'unstable' to become a mentor.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8.**

From that point on Cato began to observe all the tributes carefully, especially the ones from 1 and 2 and decided that he definitely did not want Dominus to win, although he was a likely survivor. He was slightly more favourable towards Clove because he had practically grown up training together, however she was too much of a reminder of his old life and the old Cato. 12's boy didn't have much time left, the wound in his leg was getting infected and he had gone to ground. The girls from 11 and 12 were planning something and both seemed perfectly capable of surviving in the wild. The girl from 5 was smart and may manage to last but he doubted she would win in an upfront fight which the finale was almost guaranteed to be.

Cato found himself amazed by the way 12 girl treated her ally, it was so different to how the alliances worked in the inner districts. The two acted like they had been friends for years and they worked together seamlessly; Cato's alliance had been merely a means to an end, in fact he had hated Satin from 1.

That evening the two girls put their plan into action, they build huge fires out of live wood and damp leaves and Katniss trekked through the woods to the camp at the cornucopia. The 11 girl lit the fire which let off a towering plume of smoke. It inevitably drew the attention of the inner district tributes. Leaving only the weedy boy from 3 to guard their supplies they set off like a pack of hounds for the fire site. Cato guessed that they were trying to steal some of the supplies. 12 emerged from her hiding place in the fringe of the trees and crawled forwards to observe the stockpile.

Suddenly the girl from 5 leapt out of the trees. She ran out to the pile, dancing between the mines and grabbed a couple of handfuls of food before dancing back out again. 12 seemed confused and Cato suddenly found himself wanting her to figure out the trap. She seemed to because she withdrew from the pile slightly and continued to observe. Finally she pulled the bow from her back and stepped out of the tree-line. Cato frowned in confusion as she planted 3 arrows into the ground by her feet. There was no way she could set off the mines with arrows, then she nocked the first one and lifted it smoothly and effortlessly. Beside him he saw Haymitch lean forwards in anticipation.

'Come on sweetheart.' He urged under his breath. 12 let the arrow fly; it clipped the bottom of a burlap sack of apples and Cato wondered if she was aiming to use the sack to detonate the mines. If she was then she was a very good shot but not good enough to hit the rope to release the sack. Her second shot hit the same place, followed rapidly by a third. The apples in the bag poured out and rolled down the pyramid towards the mines, it occurred to him that she had been hitting what she was aiming for all along and that he had finally found out her '11' scoring skill. For a second, time seemed frozen in place, the girl's silver bow gleamed in her hands and her posture was straight and proud. She looked like the queens in the films from before the dark days.

Then time unfroze and her body was tossed back like a rag doll as the mines exploded. The first explosion set off more and the camera shook as the tree it was concealed in trembled from the shock wave. Dirt and flaming supplies flew up into the air and as the camera faced upwards he saw the forcefield around the arena flashing as the debris thrown up from the explosions hit it. The explosions were too loud for the sensitive listening devices and they translated the explosion as a single roar. Explosion followed explosion and the entire mentor's lounge fell silent as even those with dead tributes watched the spectacle on the screen. Brutus broke the silence by swearing loudly, the other inner district mentors nodded in agreement.

Finally the scene quietened and the dust began to settle. The cameras grew still and zoomed in on Katniss as she struggled to her feet, her clothes had suffered slightly from the explosion and she had several bruises and cuts from shrapnel, she staggered forwards a couple of steps but fell again almost immediately to her hands and knees. Her hair looked slightly singed and her ear was bleeding heavily leaving small spots of blood on the grass which she shakily rubbed away, she eventually managed to drag herself to the small copse from where she had observed the supplies earlier and disappeared among the trees.

She was just in time because Dominus crashed suddenly into view. When he saw the ruins of his supplies the tribute threw a full on tantrum and he snapped the Techy boy's neck, in that moment his resemblance to Cato was unnerving and Cato decided right them that having one of him in Panem was bad enough. It couldn't cope with two, he was now certain he no longer supported Dominus. A cannon fired to mark Techy's death and the boy disappeared on the bar at the bottom which showed the surviving tributes' photos and their odds.

Only 8 tributes remained and Cato was surprised to see that not only was one district 12 tribute left which was rare enough, but both. The odds of Marvel, Clove and Dominus had plummeted as soon as Katniss had blown up the supplies but everyone else's had risen slightly, with the exception of Katniss who's odds had soared. She was now tying with Clove as the most popular tribute to win. They would be interviewing people now from everyone's families and strangely Cato felt a strong desire to go and watch the interviews of Katniss' family in 12.

**Quick note to the side. I'm looking for someone to beta read this story. PM me if you're interested.**

**I also have several story ideas that I may or may not finish writing and I would love it if someone could take a quick look at some of those and see what they think, again PM me and I'll send you the idea.**

**-Harry Potter  
**

**-Merlin**

**-Star Wars**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9.**

Cato sat on his bed in his room on the district 2 floor of the tribute building. The soundproof door was locked and he had made it clear that he did not want to be disturbed by breaking the nose of the avox that had been sent by Brutus to find out what he was doing. He pulled leant back against the headboard and pulled the remote off the bedside table. He brushed his hand over it and a TV screen appeared on the wall.

Cato swished his hand across the remote to change the channel until he reached the official hunger games feed. He was just in time for them to introduce Katniss' little sister, Primrose Everdeen, who Katniss had volunteered for. The girl was dressed in a pretty school shirt and a grey skirt, both items were slightly greyed by coal dust and very worn. Her blond hair was in two braids which hung over her shoulders and framed her hungry, hollow cheeks and slightly pointed face. In the background was a large area of dirt mixed with coal on which several hundred children socialised. They were clearly from a range of backgrounds, separated into groups.

Children with olive skin and dark hair played with other children with olive skin and dark hair. Children with fair hair played with other children with fair hair. The divide in appearance seemed to also mark a divide in class; the dark haired children were barely more than skin and bones. Their clothes were ragged and they had a hungry look in their eyes, dirt and coal dust darkened the creases in their skin. The fairer children by comparison seemed well built and well dressed, nothing like what would be expected in two, but certainly better than the others.

'Hello Primrose.' The reporter was saying. 'Could you tell us where we are?' She asked and the blonde girl looked around as if quickly as if she was trying to decide where they were.

'We're in district 12, in front of the school.' She finally said and the reporter smiled accommodatingly.

'We certainly are. Now, you're live on TV and there are some questions I would like to ask you if that's OK?' The woman said kindly and Katniss' sister nodded timidly. 'Can you tell us about your sister? How does she treat you at home?' The woman asked and Cato leant forwards to hear the young girl's answer.

'She's amazing. Since our dad died when I was 8 she's been really good at getting us food and stuff. She even got me a pet goat, although she did try to drown my cat once…' The girl trailed off as if it was perfectly normal for someone to try and drown her cat. The reporter pounced on the tiny titbit.

'Why did she try to drown your cat Prim? I can call you that right?'

'Yes. She didn't want to have to feed another mouth and he had worms.' The girl relied matter of factly but he could see the tears behind the indifferent mask. She was like her sister in that respect; good at hiding her emotions. He realised that Primrose Everdeen was just as strong as her sister, just in a less fierce and fiery way.

'I'm sorry about that, Prim. Now, can you tell us how you felt when your name was drawn from that reaping bowl?' The woman asked and Prim's eyes filled with tears.

'I was shocked really, my name was only in once because Katniss refused to let me sign up for tesserae. It knew that if I went into the arena I wouldn't survive and I was really sad that I wouldn't see my cat to say goodbye.' The girl answered, tears had begun to run down her face. 'and when Katniss volunteered I was so scared that something would happen to her.'

'I'm sure she'll be fine dear. Now, about her relationship with Peeta; has she ever shown any inclination towards him in the past? Does she return his feelings?' The reporter asked conspiratorially.

'Well, Katniss has always been too busy trying to provide for me and my mum since she was 12 to be interested in boys. I mean the only boy she hangs around with is called Gale and she doesn't like him like a boyfriend way.' The reporter takes a breath but Prim carries on speaking. 'Though Peeta did save our family once, just after dad died and we didn't have any food and Katniss was about to give up and he threw her some burnt bread and saved us. His mum hit him for it I think.' She said and the reporter gave a sigh.

'Well isn't that just sweet.' A bell rang in the background and Prim turned slightly towards the school building. 'Off you go dear, can't have you late for class,' the reporter said and the girl ran off to join her friends.

Cato sat back to process what the girl had said in her interview, tuning out the babble of the interview with Peeta's brothers. He couldn't imagine having to provide for his entire when he was 12, especially with no income and school to boot. He imagined life having to struggle to put food on the table every day and the constant threat of starvation.

Then suddenly another interview was on. This time he recognized the boy who had prised Prim off her older sister's legs after she had volunteered. The reporter was the same woman as before but this time she was seated at a worn wooden table in a dark room. A single window with dusty glass let in a small ray of light. The walls and floor were made of wood except for a stone fireplace in one corner. Several pots were piled up next to the fire and a photo of a man in a coal miner's outfit was propped up on the mantle piece. Through a doorway were visible several wooden pallets with thin, straw mattresses and dirty blankets piled on top.

'You're live in the capitol; could you please tell the audience your name?' The reporter chirped, holding out a microphone for the boy to talk into.

'Gale Hawthorne.' He replied, his voice surly. The reporter nodded.

'So Gale, what can you tell us about your cousin, Katniss?' She asked and confusion flickered briefly across Gale's face. Cato guessed that Gale wasn't actually Katniss' cousin but luckily the boy recovered quickly, realising that being Katniss' cousin would help keep up the charade between Peeta and Katniss.

'Catnip is the strongest, bravest and most loyal girl in Panem.' He stated unwaveringly and the reporter smiled.

'Catnip?' She inquired innocently but Cato could practically see her salivating over being the first to uncover a nickname from home for the girl on fire.

'She was speaking really quietly when she first told me her name. I misheard and I've called her that ever since because it annoys her.' He said and the reporter broke into peals of unnecessary laughter.

'So how old are you Gale? How many times is your name in the reaping bowl?' She asked and Gale grimaced.

'I'm 18, my name was in 42 times'

'So did you want to follow your cousin into the games?' She asked and Gale snorted.

'No. Then only one of us could come out.' He reporter seemed to have to think about that answer for a minute.

'So you're confident she can win?'

'Yes' Gale both looked and sounded confident. The reporter smiled up at him and Cato noticed her running her eyes over Gale's muscular frame. To his credit Gale didn't even have appeared to have noticed.

'and I'm sure she will.' The reporter sighed before signing off. Cato turned off the TV with a tap of the remote. He had heard enough to be getting on with now.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10.**

When Cato eventually returned to the mentors' lounge, the main screen wasn't taken up by 12 girl's feed for the first time in a while. Instead it was on a smaller screen in a side room. Cato strode into the smaller room and Haymitch looked around when he came in. The mentor scowled when he saw it was Cato in the room with him.

'What do you want?' he growled. Cato shrugged and gestured towards the screen. It showed the girl wading up the stream. Haymitch continued to glare at him suspiciously. 'I don't know what you're up to, but I don't trust you further than I can throw Brutus.' Cato laughed at the reference to his huge and violent mentor, but he ignored Haymitch otherwise and vaulted over the back of one of the chairs to land seated next to the old drunk.

'It's never occurred to you that I admire her? 12's got a winner this year,' Cato stated easily but Haymitch clearly still didn't believe him.

The two of them sat silently for a couple of minutes whilst Cato internally debated whether he should go and find out on the replay screen whether anything important had happened during the time he was away. But eventually laziness won out over pride and he asked Haymitch. The mentor grunted and used a remote to flick over to the recap.

Cato watched approvingly as she unhesitatingly shot down Marvel from District 1 after he killed 'Rue', her ally from 11. Once again the dynamics of their alliance surprised him. In his alliance they rarely killed for revenge, although he would have taken the opportunity to kill a nearby tribute. Then his expression changed to amazement as the head gamemaker announced the rule change.

When Haymitch flicked the channel back to Katniss's live feed and fixated his eyes on the screen, Cato took the opportunity to observe the old mentor. His skin was pale and his blond hair hung greasily around his face. His eyes were ringed by dark shadows and he blinked rapidly like he was struggling to stay awake. He stank strongly of alcohol and sweat and Cato would have bet a train load of marble that he hadn't showered since the countdown for the games began.

The girl had found a smear of blood on a rock and was following its direction. She called out her partner's name in hushed tones, her voice slightly rough after dehydration and breathing smoke.

'Peeta, Peeta.' She continued to call his name quietly until a mockingjay began to pick up her tones. She finally fell silent, until her district partner suddenly called out from his hiding place. The girl's expression was comical as she leapt back from him. Haymitch was frowning at the screen and Cato was confused by his expression; surely he should be happy they found each other.

They watched the girl as she dragged her district partner from the mud and laboured to save his life. Haymitch didn't even bother to look over the list of gifts. Cato wondered if he intended to leave the boy to die or if he had been mentoring so long that he knew roughly the prices of every gift in the games. Cato decided on the latter.

The girl forced the boy to eat some dried apple but he refused anything else.

'Thanks, I'm much better, really. Can I sleep now, Katniss?' the boy asked plaintively. Katniss shook her head firmly and used a knife to cut open one of his trousers.

Cato snorted when they showed a shot of Peeta's leg. It was angry and swollen, the skin around it was shiny and pus wept from the wound. He knew a fatal injury when he saw one. He also knew the early signs of blood poisoning. .

A small bar came up on the side of the screen which showed the odds for survival and Peeta's odds of winning plummeted down. Katniss recoiled at the sight of Peeta's injury, but she steadily began to apply cream and some of the leaves, and Peeta's odds on the screen climbed back up a fraction.

Cato watched her trick Peeta into eating more food with growing admiration. She was so independent and strong; her determination in the face of overwhelming odds awed him. The odds were not in her favour and never had been but still she continued on. Cato admired her more than any inner rim tribute. She deserved to win.

Then she kissed Peeta.

Cato felt something roaring in his chest as her lips met the boy's and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Beside him he heard Haymitch mutter 'finally' before staggering over to the computer.

'Broth or soup?' he asked gruffly and Cato was surprised that he asked him.

'Broth. They'll be able to keep it down better,' he replied after a second's thought. Haymitch entered in the codes and a silver parachute floated down into sight. Katniss fetched the broth eagerly whilst Haymitch sat back in his chair and gave an exhausted groan.

'You can go to bed and shower. I'll wait here and let you know if anything happens,' Cato said once the District 12 tributes had bedded down. Haymitch was tired and Cato wanted Katniss to come out of the arena alive. She had proven to be the most worthy. Unfortunately the worthy often didn't win. No one good won the Hunger Games. If her mentor was too tired he could make a mistake which could result in her death. Haymitch didn't take his suggestion very well.

'I'm not that stupid. You're just like all careers. If that career pack in there attacks you'll side with them.'

Cato was startled by the vehemence in the mentor's tone and he readied his hand to easily unsheathe the golden knife in his sleeve. Unfortunately Haymitch caught the movement and reached for what Cato assumed was his own knife under his shirt. The movement triggered the new victor's arena-jumpy nerves, causing him to unsheathe the golden knife and throw it in a practiced movement. Haymitch seemed to realise that he was in trouble and spun away to one side, throwing his hands up. The knife thudded into the wall, grazing his ear and severing several hairs.

'Well, that's likely to make me trust you isn't it?' Haymitch exclaimed, the sarcasm heavy in his tone. He tugged the knife from the wall with exaggerated slowness and placed it on the table between them. He slid it back across to the District 2 victor, keeping his other hand raised.

'No, I wouldn't side with them. Katniss deserves to win, for her sister if nothing else,' Cato said slowly once the blade had been returned to its sheath. Haymitch laughed sarcastically.

'Like you care about her sister. You don't know the first thing about life in the Seam.' Cato didn't know what the Seam was so he tactfully evaded the question. He decided that nothing positive he said would get through Haymitch's hatred of 'careers'.

'I don't like Clove and Dominus, 5 creeps me out. 11 would be okay but I think it's more likely to be your 12s.' Haymitch seemed to accept this more 'careery' reasoning, but he still didn't seem to trust Cato fully because he left the room and a second later returned with Johanna Mason. The District 7 victor scowled at Cato and he scowled in reply.

'Johanna's going to watch my tributes,' Haymitch declared. 'I want a full account of everything that happens. I want to be woken when they wake up. If another tribute attacks I want to be woken. If the gamemakers do anything I want to be woken. If you let me sleep through anything, I swear I will gut you like a squirrel.' Haymitch brandished his knife wildly for effect, and for some reason Cato didn't doubt he would carry out on his threat.


End file.
